Chapter 21

Morning found two of the three girls walking funny. I guess some of that hard pounding may have been too much. They were very affectionate though, giving me lots of kisses and cuddles and telling me how much they had enjoyed our playtime.

Once again I was at the gym by ten getting taped before loosening up for the coming game. Everyone was out on the court by eleven stretching and shooting.

Usually I start out just lobbing balls to the net from ten to fifteen feet. I missed every shot. I went to net for a lay-up, and the ball skittered off the rim. I went out to the free throw line and tossed one up for another miss. This was making me nervous, and I usually made all my practice shots unless it was something new I was trying.

I went to the free throw line and focused for ten shots. Eight out ten isn’t bad, but I was used to doing an easy twenty-five for twenty-five. I went to the corner and repeatedly did some jump shots. Six for ten, not bad but this was from my favorite spot. We had Kenny set up posting for us so we could do lay-ups. I improved by sinking all of these easy shots.

Coach asked what was wrong. Why was I acting kind of frantic shooting so much? I told him that I was having trouble shooting baskets consistently and was trying to work through the problem. He told me to relax and just enjoy playing the game. I sat on the sideline for a few minutes staring at the floor, thinking about whether I was doing something different, when four legs appeared in my vision. I looked up at two smiling cheerleaders who ruffled pom-poms in my face. Delta and Trish were laughing and said they would give me some extra cheers to wake me up.

When the game started, I was conscious of everyone and everything. My family along with Trish and Delta’s folks was in the stands. Trish and Delta were cheering. The coaches were watching. My teammates seemed to be out of sync, or was I out of sync with them.

We opened pretty even, with both teams going up and down the floor for a score. We were playing man to man until they settled on a play. We would then switch to a zone that kept them from an easy driving lane. I was picked from my man, and the forward on my side wasn’t there to keep the player from driving. I reached in to try to push the ball away and fouled.

The guy made his free throw, which gave them a one-point advantage. On the trip up the floor we were sloppy with the ball, and they stole it and drove to the basket for an easy score. This time we were more careful bringing the ball up court and worked it around. Kenny kicked the ball out to me for an open look, and I missed an easy eighteen footer. Kenny wasn’t ready and the other team cleared the ball with a fast transition up the floor for another quick two points.

Coach called a time out and gave us hell for being so slow and dull. I told Kenny to try to take as many inside shots as he could because he would probably make the shot and pick up a foul shot, too.

Our spotty play continued the rest of the first quarter, but we had picked it up a little in our transition game and were now only seven points down. Kenny was taking his inside shots and getting fouled but not making all his foul shots. Coach had tried substituting for each of us, but it didn’t do much good. The second quarter started with the bench on the floor and the entire starting first five sitting. The subs did pretty well, but the object lesson was brutal enough that all of us wanted back in to compete. Coach started putting us in one at a time until we were all on the floor together again. Our passes were crisper, our defenses were tighter, and we were running.

Somehow we were all on the same page. Run and shoot. Move the ball up court fast and drive quickly. The exertion was what we needed. The harder we ran, the more we sweat, the more we became the team we were used to being. At the end of the half, Kenny kicked the first ball out to me in the corner, it was all net, plus I was fouled. I made the foul shot, and the game was tied at the buzzer.

During half time the coach cautioned us about trying to run the entire game but said we had pulled ourselves out of our funk. He said that the other team would probably go into a full court press to slow us down. He told us when we were bringing the ball in bounds to throw it down court to Kenny who was supposed to go up court quickly every play. When they picked up on Kenny, then it would be my turn to go up court first. We were cautioned about fouls, too. I had three already, while the others had two except Kenny who only had one.

The second half was just like coach predicted. The other team went to a very tight full court press. The only thing they accomplished was to pick up five quick fowls. They took a time out when we were six points ahead and came back out considerably more loose than before but still playing defense the full court. For whatever reasons, our forward, a stocky little guy named Louie, was left open for four consecutive shots at about eighteen to twenty feet, his favorite spot. That was Louie’s mark. It was either way out, or he enjoyed driving the lane. When they covered him on their shifting zone, they would leave another of us open to shoot or drive.

I had picked up my forth foul in the early fourth quarter and had to sit for five minutes, but it didn’t hurt my feelings as we had been running pretty hard. I was watching how they were now trying to take away the longer shots, leaving Kenny open. I told the coach and he sent me back in to spread the word. We hit Kenny under the basket five straight times, and he made five baskets plus picked up three fouls.

The other team was getting angry, so we knew the game was over. Once a team gets angry, their actions are exaggerated, and they make mistakes. I fouled out with two minutes to go, but we were up by twelve and controlling the ball really well. We won by ten, winning the holiday tournament.

I only had twelve points from the field but eight from the free throw line for twenty. My pride was all in my rebounding. Today I had nine offensive and eleven defensive rebounds, my best ever.

After the game and trophy awards, the coach said we had four days off until the next practice, but those who used the gym and weight room would get brownie points. He said we had grown a great deal as a team because we found a way to get ourselves out of our funk by running. He said he would have to increase our wind sprints so we would be ready for the next time we have trouble. We all cheered and groaned at the same time accompanied by the coaches’ laughter.

The entire three family groups met me outside the locker room door. There was a pretty big crowd cheering the players even though we had sucked so badly during the first half. The girls had changed out of their cheer uniforms, and I had been encouraged to wear dressier slacks and a sport coat, so I knew we were going somewhere special.

The country club had a big party going. It was the early part of the all-day New Year’s Eve party. There was a buffet with all kinds of real food and snack foods. I loaded up a plate with some roast beef and some shrimp along with all the side dishes. Little Sandy had a ton of food too. She and Sally had become fast friends, as they were the same age and probably the same intellect. Sandy’s smarts were recognized, encouraged and nurtured, while Sally’s was overlooked because we were country kids.

We had a great time eating and dancing. My folks were not big drinkers, so they limited themselves to what they were drinking. Trish, Delta, and I tried to be good examples for the other kids and stayed on cokes. When midnight approached, champagne and glasses were passed out for the New Year’s toast. The club had a television turned on showing the big party from Chicago. We did the count down before yelling “Happy New Year,” hugging, kissing, and toasting everyone. I shook Dad’s, Dan’s and George’s hands and then began kissing my mom, Carol, Cecile, Sandy, Sally, Christine, Sissy, Trish, and finally Delta. My sisters made a big deal out of the champagne, as they had never had any before, so they were toasting everyone multiple times. Sandy was right there, with Sally being a silly teenager too.

By one we were all back at Trish’s with my folks and sisters at the rental house. Sandy stayed over there with Sally, as they seemed to have so much to talk about. We were all in bed, snuggled up and asleep before two. I groggily woke up about eight in need to pee. I went to the bathroom and heard talking downstairs as well as smelled fresh coffee, so I put on some clothes and went down to investigate. The three Moms were in the kitchen with coffee. My Mom was dressed, but the other two were in robes.

“Morning, Son,” my Mom said as I gave her a hug on the way to the coffeepot.

“Good morning, Chuck.” Cecile and Carol said at the same time. I smiled as they looked at me expectantly. I’m slow, so it took me a couple of seconds before I put my cup down and gave them both a quick hug.

I brought my cup to the table and sat across from my Mom between Cecile and Carol.

“We were discussing you, Chuck,” Carol said.

“More like trying to figure you out and trying to figure out what you’re going to do with the girls,” Cecile stated.

Mom was smiling, “Like I said, I don’t know what to tell you. Chuck never did date much in high school. He had a couple of girl friends but didn’t go out with anyone more than a month or so.”

“From what Delta tells me, Chuck has had continuous girl friends since he has been at school,” Carol said.

“Not continuous girl friends. Friends that were girls,” I said.

“What happened to the girl you called about that time,” my Mom asked.

“That was Sarah,” I said.

“The big colored girl? Trish told us she is over six feet tall and is really big. They brought her to the country club one night and believe me, that girl is big,” Cecile said while holding her hands under her breasts emphasizing the word big.

“We were good friends. Her brother is a football player. She liked to go to the library with a study group I’m in. She’s back in school now, but she was sick and had to drop out last year,” I explained to everyone.

“Well what happened to the other two girls you were with when you came down last spring. They seemed like they had put their claim on you,” my Mom stated, keeping the subject going.

“I really don’t know what happened with them. One day we were tight, and the next they were after some other guy. Delta and Trish were right there, though, thinking they needed to cheer me up. With those two around, it’s easy to be happy,” I said this smiling giving the ladies something to giggle about.

“The two of them seem to have taken over teaching me about life away from the farm,” I continued. “They had me playing golf this past summer, going to country club functions, and hauling me around going places with them. They both have cars, but only Trish keeps hers at school. They study with me, eat with me, and you’ll be proud to know, we go to church together, too, either at the chapel on campus or to their church here in town.”

Cecile got up to refill everyone’s cup and start another pot, “The girls say Chuck’s responsible for the big improvement of everyone’s grades. They say he has a big group that goes to the library daily to study. Everyone helps everyone else.”

“I’m not responsible,” I protested. “It was a way for a couple of us to enjoy each other’s company while we all hit the books. More and more people wanted to come with the initial group, and now it is a big bunch of us that want to get good grades. It’s working for me.”

Delta came in the room still in her floor length flannel gown. “Happy New Year, everybody,” she smiled, giving me a hug. “Chuck may say he didn’t start it, but he has a bunch of the athletes going to the library with him. They follow his lead since he’s a good player and has good grades. Now that they are used to going, they would do it on their own, but Chuck is the guy who started it. Trish and I really have improved our grades now that we have a regular study time.”