Chapter 38

Throughout the dinner, John Taylor seemed very quiet, and Caitie had never said a word about her talk with President Arnn. While they were waiting for their coffee, John was sitting at the table with his hands folded, just looking down at the tablecloth. Finally he said, “Mom, do I have to go to Notre Dame?”

“What’s that mean?” Andy asked.

“It means it’s certainly a great school,” John replied, “but it’s ... awfully big.” At that point his words started to come faster; he was really unloading. “And ... and ... it’s a national football powerhouse! Hell, for Notre Dame fans — and they are legion — any finish out of the Top 10 in the national rankings is a disaster.” He paused for a moment and then continued, “We — the guys and me — are used to a small boys’ school.

“And then there’s academics. You know how important an education is to the guys. In that way, Notre Dame really is different from most of the top NCAA Division 1A schools: Most of its athletes actually graduate. But still...”

“‘The guys’?” Little Bit asked. “Who are ‘the guys’?”

“Little Bit,” Andy replied, “you know that John is a running back. Well — surprise, surprise — a running back won’t make it out of the backfield if he’s not behind a good offensive line. John’s is good! All of the boys — the front five, from tackle to tackle — are all sons of PHA men. And they’re dedicated to opening holes for John to run through.” With a grin she added, “Caitie, your grandmother could gain at least 100 yards a game running behind those giants!”

With a grin on her face, Caitie replied, “You are my grandmother, and I’ve seen you run. No one could ever catch you. Want to try again?”

Andy just giggled. “Poor choice of words, but you get my meaning.” Then to John she said, “Okay, Notre Dame is a very large high-powered football school. So what?”

Again John was intently studying something on the tabletop in front of him. “I want to go to Hillsdale!” he blurted. Then looking up at his mother he added, “It would be much better for the guys, too. And ... and ... Tony Kramer is the best quarterback I’ve ever seen. And Paul Christian is even faster than I am...” At that point John just ran down and stopped.

“John, dear,” Andy asked with a wry grin, “why in hell do you think I just gave half a billion dollars to Hillsdale? In the vernacular, it’s known as buying you in.”

“But what for?” John asked. “Notre Dame wanted to give us all scholarships, and I’m sure my grades are good enough...”

“Grades? What are grades?” Andy mused. Then she brightened and said, “Oh, I know! Those report-card thingies.” Then she proudly announced, “I always got F’s and I’s.”

“Mother, you’re kidding!” John protested.

“What do you mean, kidding? What did you get?”

“All A’s,” John replied with his face reddening with embarrassment.

“Hah!” Andy announced triumphantly. “I did much better than you do. After all... ‘A’ is the first letter of the alphabet, while ‘F’ is the sixth ... and ‘I’ is the ninth! Hah!” she repeated, “You never got past the first letter!”

“Gram,” Caitie interjected while barely able to control her giggles, “‘A’ is the best grade possible. And, dear Grandmother, I really hate to say this, but ‘F’ is for ‘failure’ and ‘I’ is for ‘incomplete.’” With her eyes wide she added, “Dear Grandmother, I hate to point this out, but you were an academic bust!”

Then Caitie’s attitude changed dramatically. “Gram, could you do me a big favor?”

Andy raised an eyebrow and replied, “I probably could, but whether I will or not depends upon the favor.”

Then it was Caitie’s turn to study the tablecloth. “Mom really loves you, doesn’t she?” the girl began. “In fact, she loves you more than life itself. I know she has a standing offer to donate her beating heart if it would ever save your life...”

Tears came to the corners of Andy’s eyes, but all she did was nod once.

“Well, isn’t it reasonable to suppose that if she’s willing — No! Eager! — to sacrifice her life to save yours, that she would be willing to do anything less?”

By then the tears were streaming down Andy’s cheeks, but she took no notice of them. Instead her eyes were impassively locked on Caitie’s. Again she nodded once.

“Well...” Then Caitie’s words came out in a rush. “Would you cash in your chit on Mom’s life? In return for allowing me to marry John in June? I mean ... it will be painful for her, of course, but it’s not as bad as having her beating heart cut out of her body, is it?”

“No, I guess it’s not,” Andy conceded. “And what are you going to be doing in the fall when John is going to Hillsdale? Staying home and keeping house?”

“I’ll ... I’ll be a freshman, too,” Caitie mumbled.

“Your conversation with President Arnn?” Andy asked.

That time it was Caitie’s turn to just nod once.

Andy then caused consternation at the table when she began to howl with laughter. “You two are too much!” she declared. “You never said a word to John, did you?” Then answering her own question she said, “No, you couldn’t have. We’ve been together ever since you left Arnn’s office. And John never said a word to you about coming here instead of Notre Dame, did he?”

Caitie just shook her head. Then she asked, “But how did you know?”