Chapter 77

On the later flight, a similar conversation took place. This time there were only two participants, Meredith and Mandy.

"I'm not sure how to broach this subject so I'll just come out with it," Mandy said. "You'll likely see some things in D.C. that you should never repeat to anyone else."

It was obvious that Meredith wasn't following along.

"Not all the players' wives are on the trip," Mandy said diplomatically. "I know you're not stupid, Meredith, but you are a bit naïve. So please don't be angry at me."

Anger was exactly what Meredith was nearing before Mandy's last words.

"I really wish I would have gotten to know you earlier," she admitted. "This is something we should have talked about a lot earlier. But with Brock's injury, you weren't around the team much this summer. Look, I'm not saying Brock will do this – or that you will do this – but infidelity is a large problem in relationships like ours."

"I trust Brock," Meredith said firmly.

"And I'm not saying that you shouldn't," Mandy told her. "From what I've seen, you have absolutely no reason not to. But there are a lot of divorced women who trusted their husbands. You've seen how easy it is for them to pick up a woman. Christ, they just walk out and point to one of them. You've also seen how easy it is for their ego to take over their thinking."

"I have not!" Meredith interjected.

"Not firsthand maybe, but you've seen it," Mandy corrected herself. "I know you don't know all the wives of players. I know you don't know which players have a wife or a girlfriend. But you've heard rumors and stories about last year. You've seen guys come out of the player's entrance and pick up a groupie. As much as I'd like to tell you that you have nothing to worry about, I can't. I know how easy it is for even a really good guy to fall into that trap."

"You mean Josh?" Meredith asked incredulously.

"I mean Josh," Mandy admitted. "I'm his second wife. And I got together with him while he was still married. Neither of us planned it but it happened anyway. His ex-wife found out and divorced him. He and I quit seeing each other while he was getting divorced but started again afterward. So I know how it can happen."

"Does he still ... I mean, has he... ?" Meredith stammered.

"Has been unfaithful to me?" Mandy interrupted. "No. Well, I don't think so. But we travel together a lot. Unless I have something else scheduled, I go on the road with him about half the year. That will change next season though."

"Why?" Meredith asked.

"Well, the reason I could go with him is because there was no reason for me to stay at home," Mandy said. "In six months, there will be a baby at our house for me to watch."

"A baby?" Meredith asked. "Really! That's wonderful."

"We haven't told anyone yet," Mandy replied. "But that's a big problem. Just like Esmi this week. She'd love to come to Washington but that would mean leaving the kids with a nanny. She travels as much as she can while the girls are out of school but until June and after August she has to stay with them. That's when things like we were talking about happen."

"Are you saying Al plays around on the road?" Meredith asked.

"I have no idea," Mandy replied. "That's part of what I was talking about first. If you see something like that, do not mention it. Don't say anything to Brock. Don't say anything to me. And for God's sake don't say anything to the guy's wife."

"Bullshit!" Meredith said.

"I'm serious," Mandy said urgently. "This is one of those things that could have a profound effect on Brock's career. If he gets a reputation for gossip or you get that reputation for him, it will not only affect how he is perceived in the locker room. It will affect his free agency options. It could scuttle career choices later on. It might keep certain players from being willing to do business with him. Then there is the worst thing that could happen."

"What's that?" Meredith asked on cue.

"They could start gossiping about him," Mandy replied. "They might make up a story and feed it to the media. Or they might actually see him doing something he shouldn't be doing. The next thing you know, you're reading in a tabloid about an affair your husband is supposed to be having or you see a picture of him coming out of a hotel in Chicago where you know the team isn't staying."

"Let me see if I've got this," Meredith said harshly. "You say my future husband is going to be screwing around on me and no one affiliated with the team is going to let me know about it. Is that what you're saying?"

"Pretty much," Mandy admitted.

"And how in the fuck do these women look in the mirror each morning?" Meredith queried. "They believe their husband is being unfaithful with some skank in Pittsburgh or Phoenix and they just go on about their business. That's unbelievable."

"It's believable when you think of the other reason professional athletes divorce so frequently," Mandy said. "It's not always the athlete who cheats. The wives are home alone a lot. Almost none of them work. Oh, they might have some make-work job for a charity or something but most of them spend their time like I do. They go to the gym or to play tennis at the club. They run into other bored, rich housewives and pretty soon the husband isn't the only one with something on the side. If you see something like that, you would be better off keeping it quiet, too."

"So if I see Josh leave a bar with some chick, I'm just supposed to sit quietly and do nothing?" Meredith asked with disbelief. "Or if you see me doing that you'll just say nothing to Brock about it?"

"That's what I'm saying," Mandy said. "Perhaps, if you asked me directly, I would give you a yes or no. But I wouldn't provide commentary. I've already done enough to cause trouble for Josh."

"What did you do?" Meredith wondered.

"I'm the woman all the other wives hate," Mandy admitted. "Some of them won't even speak to me. I'm the newer model their husband might find while he's in Miami and they're in Los Angeles. They dislike me for that reason alone. Even those I'm relatively friendly with – Esmi Perez and Allison Watson, for example – look at me differently than they will you."

"That's stupid," Meredith said. "Jesus, outside of Al, there is a pretty good bet that all the guys were with someone else when their current wife stole them away. It might have been in middle school or in rookie ball but the guy probably had a girlfriend when the woman got her hooks into him."

Mandy smiled and laughed.

"You know, that's a really good point," she admitted. "So, you understand the unwritten rules?"

"I understand them," Meredith said. "But I sure as hell don't like them."

Brock waited with several other players at the airport to ride to their hotel with their wives or girlfriends. With the subway system and taxis, there was little reason for anyone to rent a vehicle so the team sent the bus back out for the ones who stayed behind. Brock would have preferred Meredith rent a car just so he could have some privacy. Even though the conversation with Al, Josh and Wade had ended much earlier, it was still on his mind.

Brock would have preferred to get the conversation out of the way before they hit the hotel. It was already mid-afternoon and he knew Meredith was anxious to see a few of the attractions in the seat of government. After a few pleasantries, the pair was silent for most of the trip into the city. Meredith wasn't sure if she could even speak to Brock about the information Mandy had imparted. The rule of secrecy seemed to be sacrosanct in professional sports. So she busied herself by putting away the clothing and putting together an itinerary.

"I think we need to chat about a few things before we go out," Brock said with a sigh as it became apparent Meredith was just biding her time until he was ready to go.

Meredith came over to sit beside him on the bed.

"I found out some things today and, well, I guess I'm troubled by it," he admitted.

"I found out some things, too," Meredith replied. "I'm sure it's the same things you've learned."

"Probably," Brock said. "I'm not sure how to even broach the subject."

"Yeah," Meredith agreed. "I'm not even sure I'm supposed to broach it. But we need to discuss it. Is it about the secrecy thing?"

"The secrecy thing?" Brock repeated. "Oh, yeah, part of it, I guess. It's mostly about what we have to keep secret. Merie, I don't want to be that way."

"I don't want to be that way, either," she said.

"I mean, I knew it was there," Brock said. "I knew it was like that. But I didn't think it was everybody doing it. I found out that people I really respect have fallen into that trap. And I'm just supposed to turn my head and watch a teammate make a mistake."

"Are you worried about us doing that?" Meredith wondered. That was what was foremost in her mind, that either she or Brock would eventually give in to temptation or loneliness or boredom.

"Not really," Brock said after thinking for a minute. "I've never been that way. I mean, Jesus, remember the morning after our first date all those years ago? Hell, I still feel guilty about that to this day. And I learned my lesson about that sort of relationship. When I was in Class A up in Lake County, I hooked up with a groupie for a while. I mean, you know, I was truly alone for the first time in my life. I thought it was casual, I guess. She was a hometown girl who didn't seem like the type to latch on. One evening at a bar, I overheard her telling one of her friends that she would have me hooked in another month. She had poked a hole in a pack of condoms. She didn't plan to latch on to me. She wanted to latch on to the money she hoped I would one day make. I made myself scarce for the rest of the season and I was in Zebulon, North Carolina, the next year."

Meredith sat and shook her head sadly. Although Brock had disclosed all of his previous partners during a safe-sex discussion, he hadn't provided details.

"So what happens if you're lonely again?" she asked.

"I call you," Brock replied. "I haven't been tempted, Meredith, if that's what you're wondering. I don't feel like I'm missing something. I don't feel like I've had to give something up to be with you. I think that's what the guys I spoke to have in common. Most of them are pretty immature for their ages. They've always been told they're special – to the point they believe it. I think I'm different. I feel like I'm lucky to have you back in my life – not the other way around."

"I feel the same way," Meredith asked. "But what if that changes?"

"If I thought it was going to change, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me," he answered with a shrug. "We both know we can't predict the future. I actually worry more about you changing your mind about things than me."

"I haven't changed my mind since the first day we met!" Meredith said firmly.

"Yeah," Brock agreed hesitantly, "but that was a fantasy you had. This is reality."

"And it's better than the fantasy," Meredith cut in. "Look, I think it's sad that men cheat on their wives. I think it's sad that wives cheat on their husbands. But it happens. It happens in sports and it happens with people who work at the grocery store. You'll have opportunities while you're on the road. I'll have opportunities while I'm at home. OK, we understand it. I accept that you'll have the chance to screw some bimbo. I don't think you will. You understand that a lot of guys in Los Angeles would love to stick it to you by sticking it to me. You don't think I'll do that. Is that where we are?"

"Well, I hadn't actually thought of the second part," Brock replied. "I mean, you having opportunities while I'm on the road. Not that I think you would or anything. I mean, you wouldn't need for me to be gone or something to have opportunities ... I should just shut up now, huh?"

"Probably," Meredith said with a smile. "I think my biggest problem is sitting silently and watching as someone does that. I mean, what if Zack or Al decide to do something like that? I'm just supposed to act like nothing happened?"

"I'm not sure I could," Brock admitted. "Tara is my friend and she's your stepsister. That puts Zack under more scrutiny. The thing is, I think I would have to step in to save Al from himself. I don't think he'd put himself in that position again but if he did..."

Brock offered a half shrug.

"Again?" Meredith asked with alarm. Al Perez seemed like the quintessential family man. He was a person she hoped Brock would emulate on the road. "Are you saying that he's done that before?"

"I probably shouldn't say anything," Brock began. "But yeah, he said when he was first called up he got a God complex and thought he should be allowed to behave that way. Esmi found out and he made a choice. I don't think it's something he's done in 10 years or more but, yes, he put himself in that situation once upon a time."

Meredith nodded, relieved at Brock's answer.

"So not everyone is doing it," she said.

"No," Brock agreed. "I don't think many married guys do it on this team. Last year, it was a bigger problem. The guys I'm friends with behave on the road. We spend our evenings together. Fred doesn't even act that way. I mean, he's single but he still goes to dinner with us and plays cards in the hotel room. Danys' wife has just moved to L.A. this month but he's never gone out trolling. I won't lie to you. Broderick gets a girl in every city. Jeffcoat has three kids from three different women in three different cities.

"Some of the younger guys pick out a woman just because they can. I guess New York and Chicago have a larger selection to choose from than Tacoma and Oklahoma City. But the thing is, Meredith, if you see something like that, at least until we're more firmly established, keep it to yourself. If it's Zack, that's one thing. She's your stepsister. But even if it's Al or Josh or Wade, just walk away. Can you do that for the next few weeks?"

"I guess I'll have to," Meredith said bitterly. "I'll tell you this: When I get back to Los Angeles, I'm going to call J.C. and get the number of the woman who runs the 'Wives Club' in Cleveland. If people want to do that shit, I'm not going to stop them. But this shroud of secrecy is total bullshit. That has to change and I'm willing to be the one to change it."

Brock smiled and put his arm around Meredith.

"Well, don't count on me to stop you," he said. He figured the conversation about a prenuptial agreement could probably wait until they were done with the postseason.

Brock and Meredith strolled around downtown D.C. for several hours that evening. Although neither was much of an historian they visited the monuments and walked past the White House, whose occupant was purported to be a huge Dodgers fan, having served as governor of California before his election to the Oval Office.

Politics also didn't interest Brock but in Washington almost everything is political. He and Meredith were standing near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial when he noticed that the same person had appeared near him at other monuments in the preceding hour.

Cynthia Lu had drilled the need for situational awareness into his head the summer before. The man was dressed in a suit and a tie so Brock didn't think the possibility existed for a mugging. Still, the man looked startled when Brock spun around suddenly and walked up to him.

"Can I help you?" Brock asked him.

"Uh, well, no," the man stammered.

"I wonder why you appear to be following me," Brock said.

"I'm not," the man answered. Brock tilted his head and lifted his eyebrows. "Well, not really. I saw you and I recognized you."

The man reached into his jacket pocket – and like the year before, Brock caught the wrist in a firm grip before it could be removed.

"Let's just take it easy," Brock advised.

The man looked stunned as he glanced down to where Brock had latched onto his arm tightly.

"I was getting my business card," the man said. "I'm Landry Rollins. I work for Representative Lopez."

Brock loosened his grip and man pulled a slim case out of his breast pocket and pulled out a card to hand across.

"I apologize," Brock said. "I have to be conscious of my security."

"No, it's OK," Landry answered. "I didn't think of that. Uh, my boss, Representative Lopez, is a fan of yours. She's followed your career since it started and she's followed your life even longer than that. She'd like to meet with you."

"I don't know who she is," Brock admitted.

"She is the five-term congresswoman from the district that includes Wilkins," Landry told him.

"Then I really have little or nothing nice to say to her," Brock said acidly. He knew Lynn Collingwood had written to every national, state and local politician once the facts came to light about his conviction in the hope of speeding up the process of his release. None had more than bland platitudes in reply. "If I were Hispanic or African-American, she would have led a parade to free me from prison. Instead she sat back and did absolutely nothing."