Chapter 25

I took a shower about five, dressed in some nice jeans and a pull over knit shirt, then went back in the family room. It was just after six thirty when I heard Ashley’s heels on the hall floor. She walked into the family room, sat down in the chair across from me, her scent finally reaching me. She had on tight jeans, black heeled boots and a white sweater, her hair was pulled back tight in a pony tail. No matter how much I tried not to think of Ashley in a sexual way, it did no good.

I jumped up quickly, it was time to go.

“Let’s go get Jasmin.” I said.

I followed her out of the back door, locking it, then opening her door, letting her in. I could tell she was really impressed by the car, even though it was a loaner. I opened the door and climbed in the driver’s seat.

“This is a beautiful car Brian.” Ashley told me, as I started the engine.

“If you like this, wait till you see my 750Li. It puts this thing to shame.” I replied.

I pulled out of the drive and headed across town to Jasmin’s house. We got there quickly, although it did take me a second to remember which house. Ashley decided to wait in the car while I went to the door. I rang the bell, the door opened quickly, it was Jasmin’s father.

“Why hello Brian, Jasmin told me you would be here to get her.” he said, extending his hand to me.

“Hello Mr. Thomas, it’s nice to see you gain sir.” I replied.

He asked me to step inside for a moment, he called up the stairs for his daughter., He turned back to me, a smile on his face.

“You’ve been playing really well Brian, I have watched most of your games. I have the complete league package on satellite TV. The catch against Kansas City was incredible.” he said.

“Thank you sir, but that last one, well I just got lucky.” I answered.

“Maybe, maybe not, but it was still a hell of a catch.” he replied.

Just about that time Jasmin came down the stairs, she looked really nice. She had on jeans as well, with a red blouse, that was really tight, she had definitely grown into a woman.

“Hi Brian, where’s Ashley?” she asked.

“She is out in the car waiting.” I replied.

“Oh, well let’s go then.” she stated, opening the door.

I followed her out of the door, down the walk to the car. I opened her door as well, she slid into the back seat. I walked back around, the ladies were still saying their hello’s. I slid in the driver’s seat, buckled up and we drove off. Fifteen minutes later, we were in the restaurant parking lot. We went inside, waiting at the small podium to be seated, it was fairly crowded. It took several minutes before the hostess made her way to us, a pleasant smile on her face.

“How many will dining with us today.” she asked.

“Three of us.” replied Ashley.

“Please follow me.” she answered, grabbing three menu’s from her station.

She led us to the middle of the room, by the time we had reached the table, I had recognized at least four people I knew. I waved hello to each of them, small town life really never changed. By the time our drinks were brought to us, I think the whole restaurant was caught up in what we were doing. I had learned somewhat to ignore it, but I could tell the ladies were a bit uneasy. Jasmin leaned across the table, speaking to me softly.

“Why is everyone staring at us so much?” she asked.

Without batting an eyes, a serious look on my face, I leaned in and whispered quietly to her.

“Ignore it, it comes with playing the game.” I answered.

We talked quietly among ourselves as we waited for our food, the appetizer’s came first. After the first twenty minutes or so, I finally had to ask the ladies to start a new topic other than football. They agreed and started talking about Ashley’s classes this year and about Jasmin’s job. I was relieved, I wanted a break from football. Inevitably though, Jasmin finally asked the question I knew was coming.

“Have you seen Courtney’s parents since you’ve been back?” she asked.

“No, not yet. I will probably go there tomorrow.” I answered.

“I still can’t believe she’s gone.” Jasmin stated softly.

I didn’t respond, I didn’t feel like getting into an emotional discussion. Ashley noticed, she quickly changed the subject. Our meal arrived and we spent the rest of the evening, enjoying our food and talking. We left the restaurant about nine o’clock, dropped Jasmin off at her place, then went back home. I made my way to the family room, turned on the TV and settled in on the sofa. Ashley, came in a few minutes later, and sat in her usual seat. I handed her the remote, she flipped through a few channels, finally coming to a reality show that she enjoyed. We watched three straight, half hour episodes, before I decided it was time for bed. I told Ashley goodnight, then made my way down to my old bedroom. I closed the door, got undressed and climbed into bed. I set my clock for early in the morning, I had to go to Carl’s gym to train, I could already feel my body reacting to the three days I had missed thus far. I fell asleep quickly, slept really well until the alarm went off. I got up quietly, dressed and made my way to the gym. I was only the second person in the facility, other than Carl the owner who waved to me from his office. Carl had always been very good to me, he was almost like family.

I began my usual routine, which started with a lot of stretching, iso and leg work before hitting the weights. By the time I was ready for the weight area, the gym was beginning to fill. As was usually the case, I noticed several people watching my every move. But then again, how many times would you really get to be this close to a professional athlete, in your own home town. As usual, I basically ignored it and went about my business, banging the plates around, following my usual circuit. I had just finished a set of shoulder presses with the barbells when Carl came over with a man about his own age.

“Brian, this is a very close friend of mine, Tim Wilkerson, he’s the President of First Fidelity Bank. Tim, this is one of my star clients, Brian Stevens.” he said, introducing us to each other.

“Nice to meet you sir.” I replied, shaking his hand.

“Same here Brian, I have heard many good things about you from Carl, he is very proud of you, as well he should be. You have made this small town very proud.” he answered.

“Thank you sir, that’s very kind of you to say, but I had a lot of help along the way.” I responded.

“Anything you need while you’re in town, you let me know Brian.” he offered.

“Well actually sir, I do need to talk to someone about my home here in town, I know my Dad had the mortgage through your bank.” I answered.

“Yes he did Brian, but that was paid upon his death. He had taken out mortgage protection insurance, so the house has no lien on it. It’s yours free and clear.” he said.

‘Yes sir, I thought so. That’s what I want to talk to you about. Could I come see you sometime in the next few days when I am in town?” I asked.

“Sure, run by today some time, I have a light schedule, I can fit you in anytime before two o’clock. I am playing golf at three.” he replied.

“Thank you sir, I will do that.” I told him.

I went back to my workout, finished up in about an hour, packed up and left the gym, heading home. Ashley was up drinking coffee as I came through the back door, she must have just gotten up.

“Hey, you already been to gym huh?” she asked.

“Yea, I had already missed three days, I had to go.” I replied.

I went to my room, grabbed some clean clothes, showered then dressed. I went back to the kitchen, poured a cup of coffee, then sat at the table with Ashley.

“What do you have planned for today?” she asked.

“Well, I have to go into town for a while, then I guess I am going to Mr. Timmon’s house this evening, I can’t leave town without seeing them.” I answered.

“No, you can’t.” she replied, softly.

Ashley went on to tell me, she had to go run errands, then she was going to have to put her SUV in the shop, it was giving her problems. She was going to rent a car, while they had it. I told her not to bother with that, I already had this one rented, she could bring me back to the airport, keep it till her car was ready, then turn it in. It was on my credit card, I would pay for it. She objected, but as usual I paid no attention, the matter was resolved. I told her to go run errands, call me when she arrived at the dealer to drop off her car, I would pick her up.

I left and headed into town to meet with Mr. Wilkerson at the bank. I was quickly ushered into his office, he was between meetings. I sat down and explained to him what I had in mind. I explained to him that I felt Ashley should have the house, truthfully I would never move back into it. Money was not an issue, so giving her the housefelt like the right thing to do. He told me that he felt that was an admirable gesture on my part, the paper work was a mere formality. I asked if it could be done without Ashley’s knowledge. He said it certainly could, although once the deed and title was transferred to her, she would have to sign to accept. I told him to proceed with the paperwork, since I had no idea where the original papers were, he told me the bank kept copies of everything, he could work from those. I thanked him for his time, gave him my phone number and asked him to call me when everything was finalized. I then left went back home, relaxed for a while waiting on Ashley’s call. I decided to call Mr. & Mrs Timmons, seeing if it would be ok with them if I dropped by later on that evening. Mrs Timmons told me although her husband was not home, she assured me it would be fine if I visited with them for a while. I told her I would come by at about seven o’clock or so, she thanked me and hung up.

A few minutes later Ashley called me and told me she was headed for the dealership. I walked out right away, arriving at exactly the same time she did, maybe a minute or two apart at best. I followed her back to the service department, when she began to explain to the service manager, exactly how the vehicle had been performing lately. After listening to her, he mentioned she possibly might be having several different issues going on at once. He told her he would run some diagnostics on the vehicle, then call her later in the day.

We removed some groceries, a few other bags from her SUV, transferred to my rental and drove home. I helped her put away the groceries, then laid on the sofa and took a quick nap. By the time I got back up it was close to three o’clock. I heard Ashley in the kitchen, apparently talking on the phone. I caught the last remark she made before hanging up.

“I understand that, but I am a teacher in a small town, I don’t make a lot of money. I’m not sure if I can afford that, can I come down and talk to you? Thanks, I will be right there.” she said, hanging up.

Just about that time I walked into the kitchen, as if I had heard nothing. I poured a glass of iced tea, then sat at the table with her. I could instantly see she was worried, I pretended not to notice. Finally she looked up, her eyes met mine.

“Um Brian, can I borrow the car for a few minutes, I need to run over to the dealer to talk to him about the repairs on my SUV.” she asked.

“I’ll take you, come on.” I answered.

“I’m sure you have better things to do than go to a car dealership?” she replied, trying her best to be discreet.

“Nope.” I said, jumping up and grabbing my car keys.

With no argument left available, she shrugged her shoulders, grabbed her purse and followed me out the door. We took the short drive over to the dealer, went into the service manager’s office and sat down. He list the items what were giving Ashley problems, none of them sounded good. Apparently the wiring harness for the onboard computer system was going bad, causing the car to either not start sometimes, or just shut off while she was driving. It addition he told her the transmission was slipping, not severely, but enough that it would have to be addressed in the near future as well. On top of that, she needed a complete brake job, two ball joints and the universal joint changed. By the time he was finished with the list of items Ashley’s face was white as a ghost. Just at that time, there was a knock on the door, a big young guy in company uniform came in with a clip board. I immediately recognized him from high school, it was a former teammate of mine, Louis Hunter.

“Brian, Ms. Thompson, what are you guys doing here?” he exclaimed.

I stood up and greeted an old friend, it had been a few years since I had seen Louis, or any of my former teammates for that matter.

“Hey buddy, I’m on my bye week, so I flew into town to see everyone. Ashley’s has her SUV here for repairs.” I answered, hugging him as old friends do.

“Man it’s good to see you dude. I hear you are lighting up the league man. I saw that catch against KC bro, it took my breath away.” he said.

“Thanks, things have been going well.” I replied.

He dropped the clip board on the service manager’s desk, then asked me to walk outside for a second so we could catch up. I followed him outside, to a small break room where the mechanics took their lunch.

“What vehicle is Ms. Thompson’s?” he asked.

“The gold SUV right there, next to the white pickup truck.” I said pointing out the window, that over looked the service bays.

“I did the eval on that vehicle myself, it’s needs a lot of work Brian. I’m not sure it’s even worth it.” he answered.

“He’ll try to sell her the repair package, I’m guessing about seven to eight grand. Personally, I would take it, trade it in on something new. Don’t mention what needs to be done, they might or might not catch it. If they don’t you get a good trade in price and she’s in a new car with no problems.” he finished.

“Thanks Louis, I appreciate it buddy.” I replied.

“Just don’t let him know I told you that.” he laughed, pointing to the service manager’s office.

I left my friend to his work and went back to where Ashley was still talking to the service manager. He was still trying to sell her on the repairs that were needed on her vehicle. She was holding the estimate in her hand, her eyes riveted to it. I reached over and gently pulled it from her hand and scanned the document quickly. Louis had been right, the repairs totaled over eighty five hundred dollars before taxes. I laid the estimate back on the manager’s desk, leaning forward slightly in my chair.

“Get the vehicle ready, we have to think about this for a day or two, we will be back.” I said.

Ashley gave me a strange look, but the service manager shrugged his shoulders, called to the back and asked them to bring the SUV up front for customer pick up. I thanked him for his time, assuring him we would be back after we talked it over. Ashley climbed into her SUV and pulled out of the lot, I followed her home. When we were both back inside, she turned to me with a rather stern look on her face.

“Brian, I am an adult, I can make my own decisions you know.” she said, slightly scolding me.

I began to tell her of my conversation with Louis, what he had found, how he felt she was being over charged for what they were actually doing. When I suggested we look at new vehicles, her tone got even colder.

“Brian, I can’t afford a new car right now, there’s no way.” she stated.

“But you can afford to pay over nine thousand bucks to fix a car that’s going on four years old?” I replied.

“Well no not really, I will have to make a loan from the teacher’s credit union, I guess.” she said, somewhat embarrassed.

“So you will have a monthly note to pay anyway, let’s see what kind of note we can get trading your SUV in, if it doesn’t work, then use your plan and get it fixed.” I responded.

“Well we can look, but I know I can’t afford a new car now.” she shot back, walking out of the room.

About an hour later, Mrs Timmons called me and told me that her husband was going to be stuck late in a business meeting and asked if I could make it the following evening, which was Friday, about the same time. I told her that would be fine, I would see them tomorrow. I wasn’t scheduled to leave until Saturday night, so I still had about days to do what was needed. Since I had the night free now, I had no idea what to do. I asked Ashley if she had any idea’s, she really didn’t.

I really didn’t feel like sitting at home, but had no clue as to what to do. I decided I was going to go to the local pizza parlour where the young kids still hung out. I asked Ashley if she wanted to go, she told me that she felt like staying in and relaxing. I cleaned up, changed clothes and drove over to the pizza place, it was close to eight at night. I went in, the place was packed, mostly teenager’s as I remembered it. I sat down at a small booth, ordered a medium pizza and a coke, then leaned back looking out the window to the street. Maybe a half minute later, I heard a very soft, female voice behind me, causing me to turn my head.

“Hey Brian, what are you doing in here?”

I turned and it took me a minute to realize who it was, there stood Gia, Courtney’s baby sister, only now a young teenager.

“Hey peanut, what are you doing here? Where’s Mom and Dad?” I asked.

“At home, I am here with my friends.” she said, pointing over her shoulder, at two other girls with two boys.

“You just get here?” I asked.

“Yep, just walked in.” she replied.

“Well let’s get a big table, I will buy for everyone.” I offered.

“Cool.” she said, summoning her friends over.

I got up found my waitress and told her I needed her to come over to the table the youngsters had picked and add their orders to mine. She told me she would be there shortly. I walked back across the restaurant to the table and sat down next to Gia. She made the introductions quickly, as only a teenager could.

“Hey guys, this is Brian. He was my sister’s boyfriend. He plays football in the pro’s, I’m not sure for who though.” she stated, very matter of factly.

“Hey guys, I am Brian Stevens, I grew up here in this town, went to your high school, I now live in San Diego.” I added.

“Hey, I think I heard of you.” said one of the guys.

I had to laugh at their naivety, it was fun being young with no worries. Just about that time, the waitress showed up to take the order.

“Order whatever you want, I am paying guys. Go all out.” I offered them.

They immediately ordered three large pizza’s with everything, then soft drinks for the girls. One of the guys, who appeared to be a bit older than the rest looked directly at me.

“Is it cool if we order beer?” he asked, a sort of cockiness in his voice.

“Not gonna happen sunshine, so get it out of your head. You’re a kid, act like one.” I told him.

“That’s so lame dude.” he replied, “I get beer all the time.”

“He’s with you Gia?” I asked.

“No, he’s Cindy’s boyfriend.” she said, pointing to the girl to her right.

“Ok, then it’s not my business, but you’re not getting any beer with me here.” I told him.

The waitress finished the order and left us, the mood at the table had grown solemn. The cocky older boy, who name was Roger, was one of those who never could let something go. I knew the type, they were going to get the last word in no matter what. He kept pushing the issue.

“So, I guess you never drank beer when you were sixteen huh?” he asked, with a smirk on his face.

“Actually, no I didn’t. I was too busy with school and football, I didn’t have time to take chances gambling on my future.” I told him calmly, “And if you doubt me, you can ask Gia’s parents, they have known me since I was your age.”

“Whatever dude.” he said, a look of disgust on his face.

Just about that time the waitress brought the pizza’s and the drinks, the kids began to eat. I could tell Gia was a bit nervous, I think she felt I was going to confront her friend further. I decided I was going to leave early, let the kids enjoy the rest of the evening.

“Hey peanut, I am gonna head home ok?” I told her.

“Aw why Brian, hang out with us.” she replied.

Just about that time, a very pretty young brunette, I am guessing in her mid to late twenties came walking over to our table. She approached slowly, then stopped a few feet away. She waited until I turned and acknowledged her presence.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but are you Brian Stevens?” she asked.

“Yes, I am.” I replied.

“I went to school with you, only I was two grades ahead of you. I watch you play all the time. Would you mind taking a picture with me?” she asked.

“Not at all.” I replied.

I got up, took her phone and handed it to Gia. I stood next to the woman, placed my arm around her waist, Gia snapped two quick pictures. Gia then handed the woman back her phone, which she slid into her pocket.

“Thanks so much, my friends would never have believed you were here.” she told me.

I sat back down for a second, finished my soda, then reached for the check. I once again, told the group to have fun but be sure to stay safe. I told Gia to tell her parents I would see them tomorrow night. I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, telling her to be careful. I walked over to the register, paid the check, tipped the waitress then left.

I drove back home, it was about ten o’clock when I walked through the back door. I could hear the TV on in the family room, I knew Ashley was in there. I grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and joined her on the sofa. She had already changed for the evening, she was wearing a mid thigh, oversized tee shirt, not much else. I finished my drink, headed down the hall, took a shower, then dressed for bed. By now it was after eleven, I could still see the TV on in the front room. I decided to go straight to bed, seeing Ashley dressed as she was did very little to help the situation. Thankfully I fell asleep quickly, I slept well until I heard Ashley in the kitchen moving around. I got up, went to the bathroom then joined her in the kitchen. I poured a cup of coffee, then sat at the kitchen table.

“Hey how about we go look at cars today over in Midway, see what they have to offer?” I asked.

“Brian, I told you I don’t think I can afford a new car.” she replied.

“Lets just go look, it can’t hurt.” I answered.

“Ok fine, we will go look.” she shot back.

We both dressed and took the one hour drive to Midway, a large city to the north. It offered much more selection than the two small dealers in our town, there were at least nine dealerships within a few miles. We went from one dealership to the next, mostly just looking, everything she seemed to like, she felt was out of her price range. We had just left one of the larger lots, when we passed a lot specializing in foreign imports. Without saying a word, I pulled into the lot, parking quickly in the front of the building. We had brought Ashley’s SUV, just in case I could get someone to work us a deal. Before we were barely out of the vehicle, a well dressed woman in her mid forties approached us, asking if she could help us look at something.

“We need to find her a car, if possible.” I answered.

“What do you have in mind?” she inquired.

“How about we look around for a few minutes, then get back to you?” I replied.

She agreed and walked back into the large glass building, as Ashley and I began to walk between the rows of cars. They represented several foreign manufacturers including BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Volvo. I followed Ashley as she went from vehicle to vehicle, but it seemed that the only thing concerned her was the price on the window of the vehicle. I wandered off alone, I was looking at a beautiful white Mercedes E550 with tan interior. I opened up the door looking inside, the car was fully loaded. The sticker on the car was over sixty one thousand dollars but I knew now from dealing with Alexis, negotiation was the key. I was sitting behind the wheel of the car as Ashley approached me, walking quickly.

“Brian, let’s go, I can’t afford anything here. I’m going to just get my SUV fixed and be done with it.” she told me.

By now, our salesman was walking back up to us, leather portfolio in hand. She leaned into the car, smiling warmly at me.

“Nice isn’t it?” she asked.

“Not bad, I like it, can we take it out for a drive?” I asked.

“We sure can, let me get the keys.” she answered, heading back inside.

“Brian, what are you doing, I can’t afford this. Please, let’s go.” she pleaded.

“After we test drive this, we can go.” I answered.

The woman reappeared quickly, handing me the keys to the car. I reached over and placed the keys in Ashley’s hand, then walked to the passenger side of the car. I knew Ashley well enough by now to know she was getting a bit upset with me, but I knew she wouldn’t say anything in public. I got in the rear of the vehicle as Ashley got behind the wheel, the sales woman in the front passenger side. As soon as Ashley started up the car, the lady was explaining all the features on the interior such as the automatic climate control, surround sound stereo, built in GPS and phone system. She instructed Ashley to back out of the lot, and take the main highway into town. We hadn’t gone more than three or four blocks when I noticed Ashley’s edginess had disappeared, a smile was on her face. I could tell, she really liked this car. After about a fifteen minute test drive, we found ourselves back on the lot.

“So what do you think about the car?” the lady asked Ashley.

“Oh my God, I love it, but I can’t afford this on a teacher’s salary.” she answered.

I was standing behind Ashley, she couldn’t see me, I made a signal to the lady to keep her talking. The lady caught on quickly, inviting us inside to take a look at financing options. Ashley shrugged her shoulders, we both followed the woman inside. She led us to her office, promising to return with the invoice for the vehicle we have just test drove. She returned several minutes later with a large manilla folder, siting down behind her desk and opening it.

“Ok, let’s see. This vehicle lists for sixty one eight, I can go fifty nine five, with sixty month financing.” she said, looking up.

“I’m thinking more like fifty, maybe fifty one.” I replied.

“Oh, there’s no way, I can get anywhere near that price.” she shot back.

“Sure you can, I got close to fourteen percent off the sticker of my 750Li.” I responded.

“You own a 750Li?” she asked.

“Yes mam, back home in San Diego.” I answered.

“Well wait here, let me go talk to the manager.” she said, getting up from her desk.

“Look, while you’re out there, have someone drive the SUV we have, give us a trade in price on it.” I asked.

“OK, I will get one of the other salesmen to do that.” she said, walking out of the door.

She was gone for close to thirty minutes, while Ashley and I basically sat there in silence. She reappeared, with a few more sheets of paper in hand, another manilla folder under her arm.

“Ok, we drove your SUV, it needs a little work, but it’s not bad. It does have low mileage, and the body and interior are both excellent.” she started.

“Now, my manager agreed, I can go fifty five, five on the car, then give you six thousand on the SUV in trade. That leaves you at forty nine five to finance.” she finished, looking up from her paper work.

“I’m still thinking fifty one on the 550, you give her twelve on the SUV.” I offered.

“No way my manager goes for that.” she replied quickly.

“Well, why don’t we get him in here, then see what we can do.” I asked.

I knew the game and how it was played. The salesman pretended to leave the room and go back and forth with the manager, when in fact, the manager’s rarely ever had to get personally involved in the deal. Within minutes she was back with a younger man, very well dressed, who introduced himself as the owner of the dealership.

“How can I help you today?” he asked, shaking my hand.

“You can help her drive off in that white E550 you have outside.” I replied, pointing to Ashley.

He asked the sales woman where the negotiations were at and she quickly brought him up to exactly where we both stood. He turned back to me, a serious look on his face. From his question, I knew he was thinking I was far too young to be looking at this type of automobile.

“You’re serious about the 550? We do have some other vehicles on the lot a little less expensive, but still extremely nice. Maybe the price range would be more manageable.” he offered.

“The price is not a problem, I’m just not over paying for the vehicle.” I replied.

He turned around and looked back at the balance sheet the woman was working off of, running the numbers through his head quickly.

“So what do you think is fair?” he asked, feeling me out.

I thought quickly and remembered something Alexis’ had said the the dealer while I was looking at the Escalade.

“Let’s be honest here. You don’t have someone walk in here everyday ready to drive a fifty plus thousand dollar car off your lot.” I answered, “Not in a town like this.