Chapter 29: What Would You Even Do With Three?

Sunday November 20
I was awakened when my bed moved. It was Tracy crawling into bed with me. I glanced over at my clock and saw it was two in the morning.

“Just hold me,” she ordered.

I rolled over on my side and took her into my arms. She didn’t say anything else, so I just went back to sleep.

I woke and found Tracy smiling at me. She’d used one of my t-shirts as a nightshirt. I mentally shook my head, knowing I would never see it again. It was one of my favorites, one I’d gotten on my trip to Japan. I wondered if I might trick her into taking a different one.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I’m feeling a little unsteady. You leave at the end of the week, and I’m off to college at the first of the year. I think I’m worried I won’t see my friends enough. I’m sorry if this is a problem,” she said as she teared up.

Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her into a hug, and that caused the waterworks to start. I just held her as she let it all out. There were times when I forgot how vulnerable she was. Tracy seemed to be so in control most of the time. I hated what Bill Rogers had done to her and how it changed the confident woman she should be.

Part of the problem seemed to be that she didn’t think we would still spend time with each other. I’d recently turned her down when she asked me to help her with her food video blogs reviewing desserts at local restaurants. Uncle John had taught me that I needed to be able to say ‘no.’ I wondered if I should change my mind. My volunteering my girlfriend might not have been the right thing to do.

“We will always be friends,” I assured her.

“It’s just ... I don’t know,” she said as she realized she was about to say something I would make fun of her about. She looked me in the eyes. “I don’t even know where you plan to go to college.”

She’d been after me to decide so she could figure out where she would go to school. I’d thought she was going to USC, with Pam just down the road at Pepperdine.

“I’ll make you a promise. If you go to USC, I promise it’ll be in my top two. Plus, I have a house there, and I’m sure I’ll be out west for movies and other stuff.”

She laid her head on my shoulder.

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I want you to go to the school that’s best for you, not where I plan to go. I won’t hold you to that promise. If USC isn’t a fit, don’t go there.”

We fell silent, and then she giggled. I looked down, and she was looking at the tent Mr. Happy had made with the covers.

“I should really take advantage of that,” she suggested.

My first thought was, ‘Yes, you should.’ Instead, I rolled out of bed and gave her a little show as I swaggered to the bathroom to take my shower. When I came out, Tracy was gone—along with my t-shirt.

I called Brook to let her know what had happened last night. She was surprisingly okay with it. I guess she’d finally come around to the fact that I loved her and I wouldn’t stray. The Destiny incident, where Brook had assumed I’d slept with her, had made Brook realize I would never hurt her that way. If she knew what my mom had gone through, and the promise I’d made to her, she would never have had to worry.

I met Brit coming in the door of my apartment. Precious wanted to stay with her, but I made the cat go out. When I let Duke out of the house, he got the vibe that the cat from hell was back and gave her a wide berth. She ran to the door and started to meow. I was wise to her and made sure I was out of reach when I opened the door to let her in. She did try to take a swipe at me.

Duke was acting like a total goof because there was about four inches of snow on the ground. I contemplated getting the snow shovel out to clear the sidewalks and driveway when I saw Wolf pull up with Yuri. Duke decided he should help supervise as I walked into the house.

I found Melanie puttering around in the kitchen. She looked up when she heard me.

“Your mom tells me you eat a special diet. After I check to see what all you have, I plan to go to the grocery store later this morning.”

“I try to eat high protein with low carbs when I can, as well as a lot of vegetables and fruit. I’m not as strict about it as I should be, so don’t worry if you don’t do it all the time. Plus, I sometimes just poach some chicken and eat salads if Mom and Dad are eating something I really shouldn’t have.”

Mom and Dad came downstairs.

“Go get the boys,” Mom told me.

I ran upstairs and found Peggy dressing Coby. Little David was standing up in the playpen and reached up to be picked up.

“You’re getting too big for this,” I told him.

“I agree. I think he needs to get a job while he’s at it,” Peggy said.

Coby reached for me too.

“You little traitor,” Peggy teased my son as she handed him to me.

I spun in a circle, ran out into the hall and then bounded down the stairs. The boys loved it when I did that and were all giggles when I came into the kitchen.

“You better not get them too wound up because they’re going to church with us today,” Mom warned me.

Like being fussed over by every woman at church wouldn’t do exactly that.

Mom talked to Melanie about who all would be coming this week. I was surprised to find out it wouldn’t be just family. It was almost everyone I knew who would be in town for Thanksgiving and/or our championship game. We’d found out last night we would play Wesleyan. Somehow, I couldn’t think of a more fitting opponent.

I figured out Wolf and Yuri had planned it so they would get fed. I didn’t blame them; we’d discovered that Melanie was a good cook. Then again, it was hard to mess up ham and eggs. She cut slices of tomato and put cottage cheese on top for me instead of hash browns. Someone had actually listened to me.

The boys did well at church. I suspected that Mom brought them to get some women who’d been requesting to see the babies off her back. Most everyone wanted to talk about football and the upcoming game. The whole town was buzzing about it, so I should have expected it at church. It was kept to a minimum because my mom was with me and she wouldn’t put up with too much foolishness.

When we got home, Scarlet texted me that Ashley and her boys were almost here. Scarlet asked if I would come over and help them unload her car. Mom and Dad accompanied me so they could see their grandkids.

We only had to wait a few minutes for Ashley to call Scarlet to let us know they were downstairs. Dad and I went down to help her move her stuff in.

“I almost killed us,” Ashley announced. “I didn’t expect there to be snow this early.”

After giving her a hug, I helped her get Dawson and Allen out of the car. They were happy to be set free. I took Ashley upstairs so the girls could get reacquainted, then returned to help Dad get everything upstairs. With the carts and elevator, it didn’t take long.

“They haven’t eaten,” Mom announced when we were done.

“And I need to pick up a few things,” Ashley said.

“Call in an order for food, and I’ll take Ashley shopping,” I said.

I think it was actually a ploy for Ashley to talk to me alone. When we got into her car, she put the key in the ignition and turned to me. Before I could say anything, she leaned over and pulled me into a bear hug.

“You have no idea what you’ve done for both Scarlet and me. Neither of our parents wanted us under their roof while we raised a family. Your mom has been great. I wish she were mine.”

“Careful what you wish for.”

“No, seriously. You do know how lucky you are, don’t you?” Ashley asked.

“I do,” I admitted.

Both of my parents had been pretty great about all this.

There was a knock on the window; it was Pam. She jumped into the back seat.

“Ashley, this is Pam. Coby’s mother.”

“Peggy is coming over with the boys,” Pam said.

“Is Peggy’s son yours also?” Ashley asked.

“No,” Pam answered for me. “But he treats Little David like he is. You’ll find that Big David is good with all the little ones.”

At that point, I was left out of the conversation. I had nightmare visions of all of them getting together and comparing notes. I guess it wouldn’t be any worse than last year when I was going out with four different girls.

We stopped at the Quickie Mart to get what Ashley needed and then moved on to Granny’s West for the food. I ended up in the back seat on the way home as Pam and Ashley bonded.

When we got back, we found Peggy had arrived with Coby and Little David. Lacy, Pam’s mom, had come from downstairs. I think Dad was happy to see me since he was significantly outnumbered, and the conversation was focused on decorating the apartment. He and I spent time with the little ones while the women plotted. His words, not mine.

I was surprised when Coby got a little clingy. Both Dawson and Allen had been shy around me, and I’d tried to draw them out. Coby didn’t like that one bit. Part of it was that they’d all eaten, and it was time for naps, so I think he was tired. Dad and I got them all down, and he suggested we leave. Sometimes it’s good to listen to your elders.

I talked Dad into going with me to see Coach Mason at the hospital. We came in to find him waiting to be released.

“Don’t you have insurance?” I asked.

“David!” Dad scolded and smacked me in the back of the head.

He was big on respecting your elders.

“I wish they would let me do that to him,” Coach Mason said.

He seemed to be able to throw his clipboard pretty accurately. I didn’t need him smacking me in the back of the head, too.

“No, seriously. Why are you going home so soon? I thought you had a stroke,” I worried.

“They got me to the hospital in time and treated me. It wasn’t as bad as it looked,” he assured me.

“Then you’ll be back to coaching on Monday?” I asked hopefully.

“No, I’m done coaching. They want me to take it easy for a while, and then I’ll be headed back to LA. I understand that you took over the offense and threw everything we’d worked on out the window. What’s this I hear that you switched to fullback for part of the game?”

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“No, I’m not upset. It took a lot of guts and smarts to look at the situation and make the changes necessary to win the game,” he assured me, and then floored me. “Coach Hope was just in here, and I convinced him to let you come up with the offensive game plan for the State Championship game.”

“How did you do that?” Dad asked.

“David has more coaching and training on offense than most high school coaches. I’ve worked with him all year on how to watch film and prepare for a game. I view it as though he’s finally graduated and can take the reins of this team. Frankly, he’s already been doing it all year with very little help from me.”

I actually blushed, and if I were being honest, I would’ve admitted to being a little choked up. Coach Mason was a legend, and I’d learned so much from him. I would never take anything away from Bo Harrington, but Coach Mason had lived football for the past fifty years or more. Along with the football lessons he’d taught me, I’d learned that he didn’t hand out false praise. Coach Mason wasn’t from the ‘everyone gets a blue ribbon for participating’ school of thought. He was more of a ‘rub dirt on it and get back in there’ kind of guy.

“Thank you, Coach. That means a lot. I hope you’re able to at least come to the awards banquet and our game.”

“If I’m able, I wouldn’t miss it.”

The doctor came in and kicked us out. Coach Rector was there to take Coach Mason home. I might have mentioned to them that I thought I should never leave the field for the final game. Dad smacked me in the back of the head again! What was the man’s deal?

Monday November 21
The school was in full Championship Week mode. We had banners everywhere, and each player’s locker had a poster with our picture on it. I hadn’t seen Brook all day yesterday because she and the rest of the cheerleaders had been decorating. She’d even abandoned me this morning to get in early to finish up.

The good news was that the weather had changed and melted off all the snow. It really was too early for that kind of nonsense.

I found Dare waiting for me outside. He seemed excited about something.

“‘Sup?” I asked.

Dare blinked at my attempt to be cool. Okay, ‘sup’ might not be cool anymore. Then again, it might never have been cool.

“Give me your phone and unlock it for me.”

I gave him the one-eyebrow-raised look but handed it over. I trusted him not to destroy my phone. If he opened the back of it, I would get worried. Dare downloaded something and then opened his backpack. Inside was the tiny drone I’d ordered for him. He turned it on and it floated up about ten feet and began to circle us.

“Move around,” Dare told me as he handed me back my phone.

The drone followed me wherever I moved.

“Wow, that’s ... well, I don’t know what to call it,” I said.

“Give me your tablet.”

This time I didn’t hesitate. Dare downloaded an app, and suddenly my tablet showed the video of what the drone was seeing via a Wi-Fi connection.

“Can my security team see this?” I asked.

“Not yet, but I should have that figured out by this weekend.”

“What will it do when we go indoors?” I asked.

“Walk in, and I’ll show you,” Dare said, with a touch too much excitement.

I opened the school door and began to walk in. Doors are ordinarily six-eight in height. I’m six-four. The drone zipped in over my head, and I felt the downdraft from the propellers. Dare got a sheepish look.

“You’re taller than I am,” he explained.

He then showed me how it worked. The drone only had a limited flight time before it had to be recharged. Dare suggested that I plug it in while in class. One cool feature it had was that even while charging, the camera and microphone would work. That meant I could set it on my desk, and it would record everything that happened around me, as long as I sat near a wall outlet. I envisioned a day when I didn’t have to wear a bodycam of some kind. I could just have the drone do the job.

He had me go into a classroom and sit down. Dare showed me that the drone was programmed to go to a corner and hover where it would get the best coverage of the whole room, once I stopped moving.

He about made my heart stop when he picked up a blackboard eraser and whipped it at it. The drone made a slight move to avoid being hit.

“It has trouble if you throw two or more objects at it at once, but I’m confident I can fix that.”

I had no doubt he could. Dare turned it over to me for the day to try out. I had to promise to give it back tonight so he could do whatever the boy genius did. Of course, I agreed instantly.

Coach Hope had us all together to watch game film.

“I’m so happy David decided that my style of offense was the way to go. I’ve been trying for three years to get him to play fullback.”

He showed a few plays of me crushing linebackers, defensive tackles, and defensive backs. I did miss that part of football.

“It made my life easier,” Ty agreed.

“Okay, settle down,” Coach Hope said because we were in high spirits. “Sadly, we will be going back to the old-style offense Coach Mason put in.”

Coach can be funny sometimes. He then filled everyone in on Coach Mason’s condition and that he wouldn’t be back. He then announced that I would run the offense this week with the help of the staff.

We then watched film of Wesleyan. Coach Hope showed all their scores over the last five games. Ninety percent of them were passes to Damion. The kid was a one-man wrecking crew. Coach Rector had his work cut out to try to stop him. The good news was that reports said he still was working on his hands, but when he did catch the ball, he was a man among boys. He’d have six to eight inches on all our defensive backs who would be covering him.

When it came time to practice, we focused on how to stop Damion. I played with the second-team offense, and they had me play his position. I was the closest match for Damion we had in terms of size and speed. Nick Rake and Wayne Turk were juniors and our starting cornerbacks. I was having my way with them.

“You have to pop him to slow him down, or he’ll run past you,” Coach Rector repeated for the fifth time.

I’d learned a lot from defending both Roc and Bill before he left for USC. The game film I’d watched on Sunday evening helped me copy some of the moves Damion had. I think what this proved was what Coach Rector suspected: there was no way we could defend him one-on-one.

Coach Rector decided to put Tim on me with either Nick or Wayne five yards back. Tim was a division-one talent at linebacker. When it came to physical play, he was better than anyone I’d faced. Our battle was ferocious, which stopped practice as everyone wanted to watch. I was still making plays, but it was ten times harder. The problem was that I would use Tim and either Nick or Wayne’s inexperience in working as a double team against them. The hope was that by the time we played Wesleyan Saturday, our defense would figure it out. From looking at game film, Damion had never faced someone like Tim.

After flight school, Brook and I drove to Ashley and Scarlet’s apartment to have dinner. Ashley’s parents, Hiram and Marianne, had flown in, and the girls wanted to try out their cooking skills.

Over dinner, the girls shared their day. Ashley had taken an online course to get her real estate license and had taken her test today. She’d passed, which meant she could now officially work for my mom. Mom had been on me to take the course so I could get my license. I’d begged off for now.

Scarlet had taken Hiram and Marianne around town, to the daycare center, and to our offices. They wanted to see what their daughter was getting herself into. I got the impression they’d set a pretty low bar for rejecting her stay here. While they loved their daughter, you could still feel the tension that her pregnancy had caused in their household. I was happy to see that they didn’t ever intend to turn their backs on her or our boys.

Carol came right to me, and I was happy when both Dawson and Allen wanted my attention. I guess I was okay now. I noticed that Marianne watched me like a hawk. When it was time to eat, I glanced up at her, and she smiled. I must have passed her test.

Brook had met everyone when we were at Alabama. She hit it off with the girls, and they were laughing in the kitchen when Hiram came over to talk to me.

“If Ashley or the boys need anything, please let me know. My daughter is too proud to ask sometimes,” he shared.

I bit my tongue. The reason his daughter didn’t ask for anything was he’d made it so that she felt like she couldn’t ask him without a battle. I understood that her getting pregnant wasn’t ideal. Believe me, that little fact wasn’t lost on me. It was like my dad always said: problems will happen. What matters is how you handle them.

Ashley knew she was in deep doo-doo when she found out she was pregnant. Most girls would rather wait until they were married to have children. Unfortunately, God sometimes has other plans for us. I hoped that by giving both her and Scarlet some stability in their lives, they could still achieve their dreams and not have them sidetracked by raising kids. Of course, if they decided they just wanted to focus on raising babies, I was more than happy to help with that. What I wanted to do was give them options.

Dinner was, well, interesting. No one got food poisoning. Brook teased me about how little I ate. Sometimes, having a girlfriend with a sense of humor can be a pain. She didn’t complain when we drove back to my place and ate leftovers from what Melanie had made.

Wednesday November 23
The day before Thanksgiving. In the past, I’d gone on a date with Beth as a sort of affirmation that we might someday bind our families. Today that tradition would end. Mrs. A had told my mom that Beth had found some college boy. I’d predicted that might happen with our dear girl. Her mom told my mom he was some fast-talker that had somehow deceived her into falling for him. My mom and Mrs. A took the news badly. I couldn’t be happier for my friend.

Family had started to arrive. My uncle from Florida and his family were staying in one of the cabins at Brook’s. When I’d suggested it, my mom latched onto the idea. Dad was happy when he learned that Uncle Jim and Aunt Tanya wouldn’t be under our roof for their stay. Uncle Jim had worn out his welcome more than once.

Grandma Felton had been invited to the farm. Brook was also housing Uncle John and Aunt Bonnie. In their last cabin, Adrienne and Tyler had come to visit. I’d received a text that Kara Tasman was also home for Thanksgiving.

It had started to set in. I was about to embark on my last high school football game, and we were about to play for what every high school player dreams of: a state championship. If we won this one, we would establish ourselves as one of the best high school teams our state had ever produced. There were only a handful that could ever compare to what we planned to accomplish.

Seeing so many people coming to support me made me nervous. Caryn had made arrangements for all our staff to fly in Friday and attend the game on Saturday. I was sure there would be some other surprises. Everyone was being close-lipped about it, even Tami. She’d told me that paybacks were hell, reminding me about the Dawson cone of silence I’d implemented when we were fighting.

The upside was we’d only had a half day of school today and then a quick practice. I’d fought hard with Tim and the defensive backs to help them prepare for Damion. When they were able to stop me three times in a row, Coach Hope called the practice.

That left me home alone with my girlfriend ... unsupervised. Oh, my! What should we do?

Melanie about had a heart attack when Brook and I burst into my apartment. I’d forgotten that someone might be in the house. Thank goodness she was done cleaning my place.

“Do you think she suspected anything?” Brook asked.

I burst out laughing. Our new help might be older, but I suspected she wasn’t dead. It would be interesting to see if my mom became privy to what was about to happen. That was when there was a knock at the door. I suspected that Melanie had forgotten something. I opened it and found Cindy there.

“Well, hello, Sexy,” she purred.

Standing beside her was Suzanne. I didn’t know what to say because my mind had locked up. Cindy simply pushed past me and went upstairs. I heard her say the same to Brook.

“You might want to get up there,” Suzanne said with a crooked smile.

Freshman year, these two girls had taught me all about how to please a woman. We’d become friends, Suzanne more so than Cindy. Cindy was sort of the wild child. Whenever I thought of her, I thought of the song that had a line about ruining your reputation.

“I imagine Brook can take care of herself,” I said as I hugged Suzanne. “How have you been?”

“Good. We thought we would take a chance and see if you were home,” she said with a smile.

The way she said it got my motor running. The only problem was, I had a girlfriend. If I hadn’t, I would have raced Suzanne up the stairs.

“Uhm,” I began.

“I think you’d better go upstairs before you say anything,” Suzanne suggested.