Chapter 25

I'm not very good at being patient, especially if it has to do with myself. I've always wanted to get right to a problem and work at solving it.

The girls and I visited for a few minutes while the nurse had gone to see if she could get me a real breakfast. She came in with a tray that had oatmeal, toast, two different kinds of fruit, milk, and coffee. That didn't look like a 'Matt' meal. It looked like something for my mother.

The nurse told me, "Eat this, and then we'll remove your catheter so you can get up and walk around."

I ate every crumb on the tray knowing that it was a losing battle to argue with a nurse, and was hoping that I might get a second one. Nope, that wasn't going to happen either as a nurse's aide type came in to take the tray.

The girls and I chatted and they told me that Price and I had been put on the 15 day DL, so I now had almost two weeks to get back in shape. They were telling me what they knew about the investigation when the nurse came in and pulled the curtain screening me from the door. She left it partially open so the girls could watch as the professional woman removed the long tube from me. As she put the appliance and bag in a tub, she said, "You might feel like you still have to go often, but you'll be over that in an hour or so. I'll be right back."

The nurse was gone for just a minute before she came back, stripped her gloves off, and washed her hands in the room's sink. She came to me and said, "See if you can swing your legs off the bed and sit up for a minute."

I turned, put my legs over the side, and was going to try to stand, when the nurse held me back. "Hang on a couple of seconds, Superman; let the blood flow through your legs and feet for a second so you don't get lightheaded."

The girls came over and the nurse told them, "Get on both sides of him and help him stand. We'll see how he does, and then let him walk around the room for a minute."

My head was telling me to start walking, jogging, and running, but my body was telling me that my muscles were just getting back to listening to my head and that I had to walk first.

We walked around the room for a couple of minutes until the nurse said, "You can try walking up and down the hallway to get your strength back, but don't overdo it. You'll need some rest breaks between walks. Take it slow and your natural strength will return."

While we were walking, Sherry told me, "David Price went home a couple of days ago, so you're the only team member here. Joe and Andy call about every other hour to get your status, so they'll be happy to know that you're up and moving about. They'll know you're improving when they hear that you're hungry."

It was Jeannie who said, "We need to get you home for some walks on the beach and some sun. That'll get your blood flowing and your strength back."

We were near the nurse's station and I spied a scale. "Let me weigh myself to see how much weight I need to gain now."

Oh boy, one seventy-four. I was down over ten pounds. This wasn't good, and I'll bet the weight loss was going to affect everything I did. The end of the season wasn't the time for this to happen. I asked the girls as I stepped off the scale, "How's the team doing? We were a half game up in first place; how are we now?"

Jeannie said, "They are still a half game up. They won the series here and have won two games in New York. The expanded roster has helped, as a couple of the pitchers who are September call-ups have really pitched well."

I was trying to figure when the 15 day DL would be over as we walked back toward my room. I asked the girls, "So how long have I been on the DL so that I can figure out if I can get back on the twenty-five man roster for the playoffs.

It was Sherry who told me, "Joe and Andy put you on the DL as soon as you passed out that second time. He was able to back it up to the day you got sick, so you have ten days from right now to get in good enough shape to play."

Now I was anxious to get back to doing something about exercise and throwing. The girls were walking with me, guiding me toward my room, when I said, "No, let's make the trip around this ward again to see how I'm doing. I need to stretch myself as much as possible. I'll tell you if I get tired."

We were picking up speed walking around the circular ward, and I insisted we go another lap. When we came back around to my room, I said, "Okay, I need to pee and get something to drink. We're going to walk until I'm tired, and I'm not tired yet. Come on; help me get out of here."

We took a bathroom break and had something to drink before I insisted we do a few more laps. I began winding my arms to get the circulation going in them as we walked, and told the girls to hold onto my arms while I pulled them up to get the static tension to give me some exercise. I'm sure we looked silly going around and around at a pretty good clip with the girls looking like they were trying to pull me down. We had been walking for more than a half-hour when the doctor fell into step with us.

The man in the white coat said, "How are you feeling, Matt? It looks like you're ready to get out of here."

"I'm feeling good, Doctor, but I've lost a lot of weight and I need to eat and also need to begin running and throwing. I only have nine days to be ready to play."

The doctor told me, "You're lucky you're feeling so strong. Price was really weak when he left. He may not pitch the rest of the season. You may not either since you've had a setback in strength conditioning, but I think your condition before this happened will help you recover faster. Let's go back to your room so I can check you over and tell you what kind of stuff you drank."

We were in the room with me sitting on the bed as he did all of the checks with the help of my nurse. He told us, "You were given a steroid that is normally only given to horses or to zoo animals to help them overcome forms of arthritis. That stuff is bad, but the real bad stuff was the animal tranquilizer you drank. That stuff would put a three hundred pound football lineman down in a few minutes. The amount you drank mixed with the steroid could have had a very lethal effect, but your health prior to that was good enough to keep you alive. That, and the fact that we found out what was in the drinks, allowed us to give you antidotes for both of the drugs,"

The man was standing back looking at me. "You're strong enough to go home, so I want you to go home, eat as much as you're comfortable eating, and begin exercising. Call your doctor if you feel lightheaded or nauseous. I have a list of a few who are knowledgeable about drugs like you were given. Don't be afraid to call one, or even a couple of them, if you have trouble. Don't overextend yourself right away; gradually work up to your running, lifting, and throwing levels. Now let these two women who have hovered over you for almost a week take you home."

The nurse told us, "I'll send the admin people in to see you, but I think the team has made arrangements for everything."

Jeannie was helping me get ready to take a shower when Sherry's phone rang. It was Andy. Sherry talked to him for a few minutes, and then held the phone out to me. "Hey, Andrew, I'm glad the team is still on top."

Andrew said, "I'm even happier to know you're feeling so well. Go home and rest. I'm not sure you'll be able to recover enough to play, but you can try. You can use the team facilities to work out if you want to. We'll be home after tonight's game, but we'll be off for a day, play four games, off another day, then finish the season with three games at home. I think you will be eligible for the last game. We'll have to see."

I told the man, "I will be ready to play by then. I promise to be ready and I'll see how I pitch when I begin throwing. It'll take some time to get my weight back, but I should be back with most of my strength by then. I'll have to see how this has affected me."

Andrew wasn't as positive as I was, but he told me, "I'll tell Joe and I'm sure he'll be waiting. I think Price can come back a day before you, and that would work out if you two could close the season."

"Well, Sir, I'm on my way home and will be there this evening. Win tonight, we need it."

The call ended and I didn't feel that good about what the man said. He probably was giving up on me because how the quantity of drugs I had been tricked into drinking had affected me.

Sherry found us some first class seats on a nonstop flight home while I showered. She said that my ticket would be paid, for but we would have to pay for the girls' tickets. I didn't care; I just wanted to get home.

We made peace with the hospital over the bills and signed some documents. We were getting ready to leave when a man came into the room. He introduced himself as the attorney for the investigating company. He said he represented the team and needed me to sign a few papers. He spread out some papers and pointed at a line on each of them for my signature.

As I picked them up to read he said, "These are just customary forms for an incident like this. Go ahead and sign them and I'll get out of your hair."

I must have frowned because he was getting nervous. I picked up all of the papers and handed one each to the two girls and told them, "Read these while I digest what's on these two. Have a seat, Sir, we have plenty of time before our flight."

I knew that wasn't true, but I didn't want him to think we were rushed. Something was wrong with the way he wanted me to sign the papers so fast. The more I read, the more I felt that the team may have had some liability to me being given drugs, and they were trying to get me to sign statements that I accepted all responsibility for having ingested them. That wouldn't work because I would be saying that I had willingly and knowingly taken drugs before a game.

The girls were about to say something when I took the papers from them and told the man, "I'll hang on to these and have my agent go over them. I'll give them to the team when I get home."

"Oh, you can't keep those. I'll have to have copies mailed to you."

"I'll keep these, I'm sure you can have more copies made later. Now, if you will leave, I will be leaving shortly as well."

The man was flustered, and fidgeted around before finally getting up and leaving. Jeannie poked her head out the door to make sure the man left the ward. Sherry said, "These documents make it look like you drank the shakes knowing they were drugged. They want you to agree the team didn't provide them for your consumption. You're right to have an attorney look at them. Your agent is a lawyer, so have him look at them. I'll call him on the way to the airport and see if he can meet us or how we can get the documents to him.

I looked at my phone to see if it had battery life left, and it did. I was going to call Andrew to find out if he knew what was in those forms.

We were able to get a taxi from the hospital to the hotel, and then on to the airport. I was getting a little tired by the time we had walked through the airport, security, and out to gate. I told the girls that I was getting tired, but I was going to be fine to get on the plane.

We checked in at the counter and were walked through the tunnel to the aircraft and directed to the first class section. We settled into our seats with the two girls sitting across from me. I kept waiting for someone to sit next to me, but no one ever came. We were heading for the runway to leave Detroit in less than fifteen minutes. I was thinking 'good riddance'. I was able to nap on the way home.

We found a taxi in Tampa, and rode to our home on the beach. I was smiling when we went inside. The girls were happily putting stuff away and told me, "Go lie down for a while and take it easy. We'll go for a walk on the beach in a little while." I told the pair, "I'm not tired right now, and I'd like to get some sun. I'm going to put my swimsuit on and sit out on the patio. How about some food pretty soon too? Do you want me to grill something?"

Jeannie told me, "We don't have anything thawed. I'll run up to the grocery store and get some meat for now and later. Is there anything else you want?"

"Sure, I'll eat potatoes and anything else to put some weight on. I should have some of the scary protein shakes too. I don't think any of them will be doctored down here."

I was lying in the sun when Freddie came onto our patio and sat next to me. "How are you doing, big guy? The news has it that you were poisoned with animal steroids and tranquilizers. I'm surprised they took so long for them to work on you and the other men. Scott said he had his before the game."

"I know. I don't understand that either. I would have thought a tranquilizer that strong would have had me sleeping on the mound during the first inning."

Freddie asked, "Did you get a report from the investigators yet?

"Not really, Freddie, but a lawyer from the group came by and wanted me to sign some kind of agreement that the team wasn't responsible for the food and drinks. I didn't sign it and want my agent to look at them."

"I'll call my attorney to look at them if you want, and he'll come right out. Want me to call him?"

"Oh no, that isn't necessary. The guy has other things to do besides running out here at your beck and call."

Freddie laughed, "Are you kidding? As much money as I pay the guy every month, he would do anything I wanted short of killing someone. Besides he's got a crush on me and would love to come see me in my bikini. Let me call him."

Freddie pulled her cell phone from her beach bag and called, "Hi, Hon, how about coming out to the condo with your swimsuit and we'll get some sun together. I want you to read a few forms and give me your opinion. You'll get to meet my neighbor, Matt Williams. Yep, Matt lives downstairs from me. When you come, go to Suite 3 on the bottom floor. You have the code to get into the building from the garage."

Freddie told me, "The man will be here from downtown St. Pete in less than thirty minutes. He's probably already has a hardon, ha, ha, ha."

Sherry came out with some iced tea and told Freddie, "We're going to feed Matt a snack in a few minutes. Do you want some steak or a sandwich?"

The woman shook her head and told us, "No, I'll save my appetite for Howard, my attorney. The guy is a doll and loves it when I feed on him."

Sherry blushed and asked, "Like we do Matt? I'm hoping to get him built up so he can take care of his women tonight."

Jeannie walked out and told me, "I have a steak on for your snack. Eat this one little one, and work up an appetite for a larger one for supper. We want you to have an appetite for us too."

I had just finished my steak and had taken the dishes into the kitchen when Howard came to the door. He came in holding his swimsuit, and asked, "Can I use your bathroom to change real quick. Freddie said to wear it, so I want to do like she asked." The man looked at me and said, "My God, Man, what have you been doing to look like you do. You are really ripped."

Jeannie was rolling her eyes, but out of Howard's sight. I told him, "First door on your right is the bathroom. Change in there. There are hangers on the back of the door."

In just a minute I took him out to the patio where Freddie was now laying on her stomach with her top undone. Howard stopped when he came out and just stared at Freddie's bare back and cheeks exposed from her thong bottom. She heard Howard gasp, and pushed herself up as she swiveled to sit, exposing her enhanced bosom. She casually pulled her top up and reached behind her to connect the two sides. She pulled the cups over her big ones and tied it around her neck. All of this was done to tantalize poor Howard.

Jeannie came out in one of her minimalist bikinis and handed Howard a tall iced tea. She said, "This will help cool you off."

Not hardly; Jeannie is enough to make a priest do a triple take, much less Howard who was already stimulated by Freddie's show.

I told the man, "Sit, have some tea, and don't let the women tease you into oblivion. They do it to us men on purpose because they know what it does to us."

Jeannie told Freddie, "Your guy is built pretty well. He could look like Matt with a little more work."

Howard said, "I wish. I workout every morning, but I just don't put muscle on that well. I feel great though, and I know Freddie likes the way I look."

"I do, Howie," Freddie said, patting him on the arm, "I love the way you look, but you need more sun. You need to come out here with me more. Plan on it, Honey, and l'll get you tanned."

These women are terrible.

Freddie said, "Get those papers and let Howie read them, Matt. You can get your agent's opinion too if he's coming down this way."

Sherry had also changed, and although she isn't stacked on top like Jeannie is, she's a wet dream to me. She's so tanned and gorgeous. She just looks like she's ready to jump in bed with me.

Howard thoroughly read each of the four pieces of paper, and then read them again. He asked, "Do you have a printer that can copy these?" Howard asked for two copies each and a pencil or pen when Sherry said we did.

Sherry came back with the copies and a pen so that Howard could start making notes on the top of the page and began underlining and circling various words. When he was done, he asked me, "Did the team really give these for you to sign?"

"I think it was the attorney from the investigators that made it up, so I'm not sure if the team's legal department saw it before it was presented to me."

Howard handed me the original and marked up copies, and said, "You can sue the pants off them if you want to, as these forms apparently almost admit liability. That they would put this down for you to sign, give up your right to sue, in addition to you agreeing to the termination of your contract, is pretty harsh. You need an attorney on this and that attorney needs to confront the club's legal people.

"You may not have wanted or thought about suing them, but you need an attorney after seeing this. You said your agent may come; demand that he does. He needs to see this." Howard was smacking his hand with the copy of the papers he had kept.

I went inside and took my phone from the charger and called my agent. He answered and told me he was in Tampa, was getting a car, and would be on the way to our condo. He asked for directions and asked if I could get him a room for four. His wife and two kids had come with him. I assured him we would do it.

Sherry was standing next to me and I asked her to call the pink hotel for a suite for the agent and his family. Sherry already knew all of the reservation people by their first name, so she could easily wheedle a suite from them.

I sat down at the counter in the kitchen and called Andrew. When he answered, I asked, "Are you where you can talk? If not, go somewhere and call me; it's important."

Andy said, "I'll call you back in a minute."

It was just over a minute before my cell rang. "What's up, Matt. Did you already get home?"

"I'm home, but before I left the hospital and Detroit, a guy came by who said he was an attorney connected to our legal or investigation department. The man wanted me to sign some documents that are not nice. I want to fax them to you so you can read them. There is no way you would have approved this."

Andrew said, "I knew that they were going to try to get you to sign a hold harmless agreement, but that's all. What else does it say?"

"You need to read it, Andrew. Whoever these people are have hung the team and organization out to dry. These are horrible. Where can I fax you a copy?"

"That bad, huh? They were supposed to get approval from the club's legal department before presenting them to you. I don't have a place to receive a fax, but if you can e-mail me copies, I can read them off my phone. Do that real quickly. You have my e-mail address."