Chapter 16

We wandered around underneath the stadium and made our way under the concrete mass through a maze of corridors until we got to the one special door I was looking for. I knocked on the Clubhouse door and the guard opened it. He greeted me with a big smile and a slap on the back. He was sort of deaf and spoke very loud.

"Lar, good to see you, guy!" he said in his normal booming voice. "You don't come around much anymore. Coach said you'd be here tonight, though. Come on in, come in!"

He waved me in. He totally ignored the two girls, something they weren't used to, especially today. It was if he didn't even see them. I think they were shocked. I could tell by their faces they were pissed at being ignored by a man this close to them. Sally was trying to figure out how the guard knew me so well, even though her reasoning was going on under a slight beer-induced haze. Three beers affected her more than me.

As we entered the Clubhouse, the guard shouted, "Hey guys, look who's here!"

We entered the open room to shouts of "Larry," "Lar," "Sampson" and one heartfelt "You lucky bastard," which brought a lot of laughs. There must have been a shortage of towels that night, as most of the guys were naked and hanging limp but only for a short time. The sight of Sally and Janey took care of that.

Janey - Sally, too - stood and gawked at all of the appreciation being shown to them by those naked athletes. I don't know exactly which scenarios would be in a list of women's fantasies, but I was pretty sure this would probably be one of them on the list for most women: twenty-five young healthy guys on display, naked in the locker-room. Janey was the first to recover.

"Hi, guys. I'm Janey. Great game! Yeaaaaaa!" she said, waving to the room.

Almost as one they shouted "Hi, Janey!" back at her as if this sort of visit occurred after every game. I knew it didn't. She had taken to jumping up and down as she congratulated them. Sally, not to be outdone by her daughter, imitated Janey's routine. The cheer following Sally's performance was louder. I didn't think it was possible.

"WHAT'S ALL THE RUCUS OUT HERE?" came from the back of the room.

I would know that foghorn voice anywhere. It still haunted my dreams.

"WHY, LARRY SAMPSON! HOW THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU OL' SON OF A GUN?"

A man as big as his voice barreled out into the room, caught sight of me and came straight over. The guys got out of his way; the lucky ones anyway

"So, have you decided to come back and play for me? We still got your uniform hanging in the locker, same one. Just say the word, fella," my old coach said, whispering in a normal volume for the benefit of the ladies.

As much as we both knew it would never happen he still tried to get me back to play ball for him. It felt good to be wanted.

I just grinned at him and pulled him into a hug. He loved it, but put up a good fight.

"So, are you going to introduce me or do I have to get their names from the labels on their diapers? Shit, man! When did you start robbing cradles? Or did your Sis get a law passed that says two 12s are as good as a 24?" he blurted out.

The guys nearby were holding their sides. I was biting my lip. He was playing it loose, getting in several good shots, while I had to be on my best behavior. I introduced Sally and Janey to my former coach and he shook hands with each one. I was surprised he shook them so gently, without causing their shirts to rise. Knowing him, that took tremendous effort. It also showed me the respect he had for me.

"So, which one of you do I have to thank for that home run that won the game?" he asked them.

Sally and I nodded at Janey. Janey, however, turned and pointed across the steamy room at Mac Washington and said, "Him!"

After the laughter died down, Coach said, "Well, little lady, you have just earned yourself a season ticket to all the home games." Cheers from the players. He looked over at me. "But you will have to pay double to get in." More jeers than cheers, but it was all in fun.

After all the preliminary blustering, he lowered his voice further and pulled Sally and I into conversation off to one side. I stood where I could keep an eye on the room and Janey.

"Shit, Larry! When you said they were good looking, I thought you meant like Judith. These two are fuckin' beautiful!" Remembering Sally standing there, he actually reddened. "Sorry, ma'am, please excuse my French."

I knew he was more worried about the effect the two women would have on some of the guys and whether they could control themselves. He wasn't the only one who was worried. I knew most of the guys and trusted them. Some of them, however, were new since I had stopped playing a few years ago. No risk, no gain, I kept telling myself. Maybe someday it would actually be true...

Sally's musical laughter set him at ease, and she relaxed as she realized this, too, was a planned event. Her eyes lit up as she figured out she was seeing a part of my history she did not have a clue existed. We had never talked about sports and stuff.

"Damn, I don't know if some of the guys, 'specially the single ones, are gonna make it with all that, that, that..." he looked at Sally, lost for words.